Vehicle detecting system



Patented May 20, 1952 OFFICIE VEHICLE DETECTING SYSTEM William J. Parks, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Motorola, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application October 17, 1949, Serial No. 121,719

6. Claims. 1

This invention relates generally to systems for identifying moving objects, and more particularly to a system for indicating the progress of a bus or other vehicle over a predetermined course.

Many public transportation companies have need for a system whereby a central office is kept informed as to the positions of buses or other vehicles which are being operated over a course or a plurality of courses. This information facilitates the preparation of time schedules and other useful data concerning the positions and the progress of the vehicles operated by a transportation company. A system of this character is disclosed in the copending application of Daniel E. Noble, Serial No. 31,269, filed June 5, 1948. Information is provided by a plurality of stations positioned at intervals along a roadway over which buses travel. At each of these stations, transmitting and receiving antennas extend across the roadway. Normally these antennas are very loosely coupled to each other, but when a bus equipped with a suitable coupling means arrives at a station, the transmitting and receiving antennas are linked together through the coupling means carried by the bus, and a distinctive signal is sent to the central office indicating the station at which the bus has arrived. The coupling between the antennas is reduced to its normal value when the bus leaves the station, thereby interrupting the station signal.

One of the problems which arises in the design of a bus progress system is the amount of undesired stray coupling that may exist between the transmitting and receiving antennas at some stations. Ordinary loop antennas cannot be sufficiently isolated from one another to completely eliminate this stray coupling under all practical operating conditions. Hence, under some circumstances, the arrival of a vehicle at a particular station may be indicated merely by a change in the strength of the signal picked up by the receiver, rather than by the presence or total absence of such a signal. Complete interruption of the received signal in the absence of a vehicle would be more desirable, as it would cause a more definite response by the system when a vehicle arrives at the station. There is also a tendency for the receiving loop to pick up ignition noises from vehicles passing over it, and this, too, may cause trouble at the central oflice.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved system for indicating the progress of movable objects over a predetermined course, which system is free of the disadvantages mentioned above.

Another object is to provide a system of this character in which stray signals picked up by the receiving antenna are eifectively canceled within the antenna itself.

A further object is to provide more definite and reliable information to the central office under all conditions of operation.

A feature of the invention is the provision of a receiver loop antenna having relatively transposed portions therein for causing the stray signals to be canceled out.

Another feature is the provision of a receiver loop antenna having multiple transpositions therein to prevent the sending of spurious signals which otherwise might be produced as a result of stray pickup from the transmitting antenna, or from the ignition systems of vehicles passing over the receiving antenna, or due to the shielding elfect of a vehicle passing over a portion of the receiving antenna.

The foregoing and other objects and features of the invention will be better understood from a study of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view illustrating a system embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a simplified plan view of the system; and

Fig. 3 is a plan View of a modification.

In practicing the invention there is provided a system for indicating the progress of moving vehicles such as buses or streetcars over a course such as the usual bus or streetcar route. A plurality of stations may be provided along the route, each including a transmitter and a receiver respectively having antennas positioned across the roadway traversed by the vehicles. A coupling means is carried by each vehicle for linking the transmitting and receiving antennas when the vehicle passes by each station. When the transmitting and receiving antennas are closely coupled together through the medium of the coupling means in the vehicle, the receiver then operates a suitable signalling means for sending a station signal to the central oflice. In carrying out the objectives of the invention, the receiving antenna has two or more transposed loop portions therein for canceling out the stray pickup from the transmitting antenna. Voltages induced in the receiving antenna by stray pickup from the transmitting antenna oppose one another in these transposed portions. The coupling means which is carried by a vehicle, however, couples the transmitting antenna to only one of the transposed loop portions in the receiving antenna; hence at the receiving antenna there is no balancing pickup to cancel the pickup effected through the vehicle. For eliminating the objectionable pickup of ignition noises from vehicles, as well as any net pickup of stray signals from the transmitting. antenna due to the partial. shieldingof. the receiving antenna "by a vehicle passing thereover, the receiving antenna may be constructed with a large number; of

transpositions. In this arrangement, all of the small transposed loops in the receiving antenna which pick up noise or a straysignal will cancel each other to the nearest even number, leaving at most the net effect of only one small loop, which is not appreciable.

Referring now to the drawings ,=in Figsl l and 2 there is illustrated an identifying station with a bus I shown in broken outline. The bus I0 is .on the roadway I I in'which transmitting and receiving loop antennas I2 and-l3 -are-embedded. ".These loops I2 and 'I3'areinsulated from ground to minimize the direct coupling"between-them. The antenna I2 is fed by a transmitter-i lyand the antenna'IS feeds its output to a-receiver I5.

"'"The transmitter-I l operates'continuously toprovide a signal which is radiated by the" loop antennaIZ. The loopIB is separated fromthe loop IIZiby a, distance approximately equal to the length of the vehicle" I0, and underideal conditions this spacing would be sufficient to prevent the direct pickup'of the transmittedsignal'by the antenna I3 when no vehicle is present at that .station.

Under practical operating conditions an'undesirable amount of stray coupling may exist between the antennas I2 and I3. To nullify the effector this stray coupling, the receiving antenna is so arranged as to define transposed loop portions therein. .The emb'o'diment'illustrated in Figs. land 2 has two transposed loops lfiand I! .in the antennail 3. This causes the direct energy transfer between the antennas iI2 and"I3 to be canceled out insofar as any efiect upon thereceiverI5 is concerned. Hence, in theia'bsence of a vehicle ID at the station, the net pickup by the receiving antenna is substantially zero.

The bus I El carries at the oppositeends thereof a pair of loops I8 and I9, which are spaced "substantially the same distanceas the loops*l2 and I3. The loops'I8 and'I9 are closed loops and are coupled together by a coaxial lineflfl extending longitudinally of the 'vehicle llli-"Eachpfthese loops has a condenser 2| for [tuning the "same. The coaxial line- 20 is-connected "across a small portion 22 of each loop, thereby'affording alowimpedance coupling. When the loops I8 and I9 are tuned, they provide far greater coupling-betweenthe transmitting and receiving antennas I2 and I3 than would eXlSt'With' any accidental coupling by buses or vehicles not carrying'these couplingloops. The coupling-means including the-loopsIB and I9 is effectively coupled to either the loop portion'lt or the'loop portionI'I of the 1 receiving antenna I3," depending upon the'side of '1the-street II that the bus :IB is travelling upon. In the present instance it is assumed thatthe loop I 3' picks up signals 'radiated by the antenna I 2 and that the" loop I 9 reradiates these signals to the loop portion I! of the antenna I3. "Hence; a-strong signal is induced-in the-loop portion I! "as 'the transmitter loop '12 is coupled- 'thereto through the medium'of the loop I 8', line 20*and loop I9. --Ina-smuch-as-'this'strong signal is --not 1 balanced byany=sigr1al induced in the--loop-por-' tion I6, there is a strong net voltage which is irripressed upon the input side of the receiver I5.

Fig. 2 indicates the manner in which the station-indicating signal is transmitted to the cen-' 5 tral ofiice. A relay 25 operates whenever a signal of predetermined magnitude is passed by the re- .ceiver I.5,.causing a selective signalling unit 26 t0 operate. The'selectivesignalling unit 26 maybe any unit which provides a signal having distinctive characteristics that identify the particular station in question, such signalling units being wellk-nown in the art. The signal then is trans- .mitted through a wire or communication system 221 (.which.may serve as a common channel for transmitting "identification signals from a number of stations) to a selective response unit 28 -located"at the central office. There may be many eof these selective response units, each responding to signals coming from a particular station in 20,.thesystem. .As each selective response, unit 28 is operated, it gives an indication to"the"central stationvoperator or recorder that a bus is passing a particular station. If desired; theiisystem can also be designed so that each signal received by .thecentralofiice indicates not only the identity of a station but. also the identitypf the" particular ..bus at that station.

'T'I'hereceiving antennaI3 in Figs. 1'and2 has the advantage that it prevents anygstray coupling whichmay exist betWeeWthe'transmitting and receiving antennas'fIZ and I3 from'having'any .efiect upon the receiver" I5 under most circumstances. However, each time""th'at a1.vehicle 1 passes over one .of .thegloop portions'll B. or H. of 5 this antenna, there isapartialsh'ielding oflthe ...loop..portionwhich tends-to unbalance the voltages. induced. in the portions'fl (Sand 1 1 byjstray Mpickup. .This..ma produce a-net. inducedvolt- ....age..that.wo1ild. affectl.-.the. rec'eiverTIS andthe .relay25. The .relayFZB can, of course, be adjust- :ed so. that itresponds. only .to signals at .a certain level. Thus,.ordinary.vehiclesnotequipped with the :two. coupling .loops LI 8. and .'I Biwill. not operate the selective signalling .unit. 2 6. Anlefife'ctive s'olutionof .this. problem, however, isthe utilization of a multiple loop. antennaasLshownihFig'l. 3, which willbe explained presently.

.Anothenpossible source .of..trouble is I the pickup of ignition=noises ;by..either.. loop portion- I 6 or I I from vehicles passing above .them. As ageneral rule: these noises wouldnotbecanceledoiitin .the .wantenna'l3.

. To makethe systemless subject..to-improper operationunder the foregoing. conditions, a .re- .ceiving. looplantennav with. multiple. transposi- ...tions, such asgthelantenna 30 .in Fig..3.,..may.advantageously-be employed. The antenna SILcontains a large number. of verysmall coupling loops .32; for. example, :twenty-four. MEachi loop -32 is -just large enough for-being 'afiectivelycoupled .to a...loop such as .19, Fig..2,.carried by.a .v.ehicle --.I0. ..,.As.in. the previous .case, a strong voltage is induced. in. the receiving antenna-30. when such ..coupling..exists,. and 'this .voltage' is impressed uponflthe receiverl'33jflf a vehiclesuch as an ordinary automobilej .passes over the antenna 30 and shields. several of the loop's"32 the remaining loops 32 may pick up stray signalsfrom the trans- "mitting 'antenna IZ -('Fig; 1). The'voltages'induced in the -various-*loops-"-32 bystraymickup, however; will" cancel "each: other to the" largest 'evennumber. Y Thus, for ex-ampleiif four ofthe sm'all loops 32 were shielded -and-twenty left-'-un- ---shieldedjthy-pickup in -ten of the -unshielded loops would then exactly cancel the pi'ckup in,

the other ten unshielded loops. If the number of unshielded loops were, say, nineteen, then the pickup in nine of these loops would cancel the pickup in nine other loops, leaving a balance of only one loop 32 which would be efiective in supf plying a-signal to the receiver 33. The voltage which isf induced in any one loop 32 by stray pickup is so small that it does not afiect the relay 26 (Fig. 2} consequently it does not result in the transmission of a station signal to the centr aLofiice'T The same considerations apply to ig- 'fiition noises. If the number of loops afiected is an even number, the noise pickup is exactly canceled. Otherwise, if an odd number of loops is affected, there will be the net pickup of only one loop 32, which again is too small to cause faulty operation of the system.

Thus it Will be seen that the multiple transpositions in the loop 30, Fig. 3, serve to prevent the sending of spurious signals which otherwise might be caused by the shielding efiect of vehicles or by the pickup of ignition noises. Preferably, the cross. wires, 34 of the loops 32 are disposed at 45-degree angles with respect to the longitudinal axis of the antenna. This eliminates the possibility of a vehicle l0 equipped with the pickup loops l8 and l9 failing to produce a station signal by passing over a dead spot in the transposition, assuming of course that the vehicle itself is not traveling at approximately a 45- degree angle relative to the antenna.

While the invention has been described with reference to several preferred embodiments thereof, such embodiments are subject to modification within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a system for detecting the presence of a movable object at a particular location, a wave signal radiator at said location, a receiving antenna at said location spaced from said radiator, said antenna comprising a plurality of seriesconnected conductive loop portions which are electrically opposed to each other as regards the direct pickup of signals from the radiator, so that the signals picked up by said antenna directly from said radiator are substantially cancelled out, and coupling means carried by a movable object including a pair of coupling loops for respectively picking up signals from said radiator and for reradiating the picked-up signals to one of the loop portions in said receiving antenna when said object is at said location, said coupling loops having the same spacing as said wave signal radiator and said receiving antenna, with said one loop receiving a strong signal from said coupling means thereby providing a net voltage of substantial magnitude in said receiving antenna.

2. In a system for detecting the presence of a movable object at a particular location, a wave signal radiator at said location, a receiving antenna at said location spaced from said radiator, said antenna comprising a continuous conductor having a plurality of transposed loop portions therein defined by crossed parts of said conductor, said loop portions being electrically opposed to each other as regards the direct pickup of signals from the radiator, thereby signals picked up by said antenna directly from said radiator are substantially cancelled out, and coupling means carried by a movable object including a pair of coupling loop means for respectively picking up signals from said radiator and for reradiating the picked-up signals to one of the loop portions in said receiving antenna, said cou- 6' pling loop means being spaced to correspondto the spacing of said wave signal radiator and said receiving antenna, with said one loop portion receiving a relatively strong signal from said coupling means thereby providing a net voltage of substantial magnitude in said receiving antenna.

3. A wave signal system for detecting the presence of a vehicle at a particular location comprising a wave signal radiator at said location, a receiving antenna at said location spaced from said radiator, said receiving antenna comprising a plurality of series-connected conductive loop portions which are electrically opposed to each other as regards the direct pickup of signals from the radiator, thereby to provide substantially no net voltage in said receiving antenna from reception of signals directly from said radiator, and coupling means carried by a vehicle including a pair of coupling loops for respectively picking up signals from said radiator and for reradiating the picked-up signals to said receiving antenna when said vehicle is at said location, said coupling loops having the same spacing as said wave signal radiator and said receiving antenna, said reradiating loop of said coupling means having dimensions such as to be coupled efiectively to only one of the loop portions in said antenna, with said one loop portion being responsive to signals reradiated by said coupling means for inducing a net voltage of substantial magnitude in said receiving antenna.

4. A wave signal system for detecting the presence of a vehicle at a particular location comprising a wave signal radiator at said location,

a receiving antenna at said location spaced from said radiator, said receiving antenna comprising a plurality of series-connected loops which are electrically opposed to each other as regards the direct pickup of signals from the radiator, said loops being of such small size that the pickup of stray signals thereby and the shielding thereof by adjacent objects is substantially cancelled out and has negligible effect, and coupling means carried by a vehicle including a pair of coupling loop means for respectively picking up signals from said radiator and for reradiating the pickedup signals to said receiving antenna when said vehicle is at said location, said coupling loop means being spaced to correspond to the spacing between said wave signal radiator and said receiving antenna, with said reradiating loop means and each of said loops having dimensions such that said reradiating loop means is coupled effectively to only one loop at a time so that a net voltage of substantial magnitude is produced in said receiving antenna when said vehicle is at said location.

5. A system for detecting the presence of a movable object at a particular location including in combination, a signal radiating antenna at said location, a receiving antenna at said location spaced from said radiating antenna, one of said antennas comprising a plurality of series-connected conducting loop portions which are electrically opposed to each other with respect to direct transmission of signals between said antennas, so that there is no substantial net voltage induced in said receiving antenna by direct transmission from said radiating antenna, and coupling means carried by a movable object in-- cluding a pair of coupling loop means for respectively picking up signals from said radiating antenna and for reradiating the signals picked up adjacent said receiving antenna when said object is:at-saidlocatiomsaidcouplingdoop meansfbeing =-,..spaced' to correspond to the spacing betweenfsaid z-isignal -radiating antenna .-and-. said receiving anitenna 'tof :therebyvprovideaefiicientv coupling bewtween one::l0op portion-0f:said oneiantennaiand said other antenna sozthat. a.-net-vol-tage'of substantial magnitude is produced in said receiving s. antenna when: said object is. at said-location.

6: A) system for detectnig. the-.presenceoi a ..-.movable=obj.ect at a particular location including;-

= in combination,atransmittingameans including a signal-radiatingantennaat said location, receivr..ing-.meansincluding areceiving antennaat said location spaced from said radiating.antenna,-.one of said antennas-comprising a plurality of seriesconnected conducting loop portionswhich; are

-electrically. opposed to each other with respect to direct transmission of-csignals betweensaidantennas, so':that the netvoltage-induced in said receiving antenna by direct-transmission-.from.

K said radiating antenna'is held :below a predetermined value, and coupling. means. carried-by a movable object including a pair of coupling loop means forrespectively picking .up signals from :said. Jradiating' antenna and for reradiating' the i 1. signals picked-11p adjacent said receivingantenna 8 when said object at. said location; saidcoupling loop. =means being. spaced. to. correspond..-to the spacing. between said signal radiating .antenna and saide receiving .antenna to... thereby. provide 5 efficient coupling between-one loop-portion of said oneantenna and-said other. l antenna, .so that a --.net voltagegreatenthan said predetermined-value ispr'oducedfin said receiving antenna when said object is at said location, said .receiving means g..including selective meansresponding to asvoltage egreater-wthan-i said. predetermined. value.

WILLIAM JLFARKS.

REFERENCES" CITED 5 The following: references are OfI'BCO'Id': in :the

'iufile of thiswpatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

